SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SWEET – SWEET FANNY ADAMS REVISITED

SWEET
SWEET FANNY ADAMS REVISITED
METALVILLE

Sweet Fanny Adams was Sweet’s second studio album, released only in Europe in 1974. Five of the songs from the album were cobbled together with other songs for their North American breakthrough album, Desolation Boulevard. Sweet Fanny Adams went on to become not only a Sweet classic, but a classic glam-rock album. So, it made sense that in 2012, Sweet toured performing the album, along with some of their biggest hits. One show was recorded and had a very limited release by Sweet, which became Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited (in North America the album was retitled to Desolation Boulevard Revisited). Due to it being a very limited release, it has gone on to become a collector’s item. But fans have been trying to get their hands on it for years. And now, it is available for all to enjoy.

At this point, Sweet consisted of one original member, Andy Scott (guitars/lead vocals), plus Peter Lincoln (bass/lead vocals), Bruce Bisland (drums/vocals) and Tony O’Hora (keyboards/guitar/lead vocals). This lineup of Sweet leaned more towards metal than glam/power pop. Whereas the original intent of the album was to be a souvenir from that tour, it now serves as a historical document of both the original album and the 2012 line-up of Sweet.

The album opens with an energetic and pure hard rock classic “Sweet F.A”. A humorous and rocking song. The audience participation is quite brilliant and adds a great deal to the song. It is the perfect opening to the album. And the audience adds a great deal to the energy of the band. Just listen to the audience erupting with the opening of “Fox on the Run”, it really is pure magic and then the band launches into a rather aggressive version of the classic pop/rock classic.

It isn’t just the hits that make this album interesting. This is a tight band that sounds like they are having fun. They manage to replicate tricky harmonies from the original albums and create a very hard sound. Songs like “Heartbreak Today” or “Into the Night” may not be familiar to North America and as such sound like they could have been off any Sweet album circa 2012, or even today. They maintain the nostalgia of the original song, while adding a new spin, usually due to the great guitar solos.

Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited is a great live album, one that has been rescued from obscurity. Fans will be happy to get their hands on the album, but it just might attract some new listeners. The concert may be over a decade old, but it still sounds extremely fresh and exciting. It is a well-recorded live album. Sweet Fanny Adams Revisited proves that Sweet, whoever was in the line-up, was a fantastic live band. It is an enjoyable experience to hear them live from the 2012 era.

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